


Hiding in Your Bunk

by Thunderhel



Series: Camp Half Blood AU [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: AU, M/M, Percy Jackson AU, Pre-Relationship, camp half blood au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 05:34:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11891088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunderhel/pseuds/Thunderhel
Summary: The thing about Nursey was he was the worst.The majority of Dex’s siblings liked to argue that this was a subjective opinion, but Dex knew it to be objective fact.In which a very disagreeable son of Hephaestus may or may not have an issue with a certain son of Ares.





	Hiding in Your Bunk

**Author's Note:**

> I have too many AUs but this is one of my favorites so here we go. Orginally posted on tumblr [**HERE**](http://dexondefense.tumblr.com/post/159926342537/also-dex-being-hella-doubtful-of-nurseys) as a prompt requested by  
> [terynosaurusrex](terynosaurusrex.tumblr.com).  
>  It is part of my [Camp Half Blood/Percy Jackson AU](http://dexondefense.tumblr.com/tagged/percy-jackson-au) which can be found on tumblr.

The thing about Nursey was he was the worst.

The majority of Dex’s siblings liked to argue that this was a subjective opinion, but Dex knew it to be objective fact.

“Why does he bother you so much?” Gwen had asked, an active blow torch left dangerously unattended in her hands as she stared at him. 

“Yeah, he’s actually cool?” Serena had then ventured, sharpening a blade and ignoring the daggers Dex was glaring her way. “Like, most of the Ares kids are horrible, but he’s actually really nice.”

“And you thought he was a son of Aphrodite,” Thomas interjected, dodging the actual dagger that Dex hurled at him as the rest of Bunker Nine laughed. 

That incident had taken place three hours ago, and Dex’s mood had not improved. It didn’t help that Chowder was just as enamored with Nursey as the rest of the camp.

“The reason I even thought he was a son of Aphrodite was because of how insufferable he is!” Dex defended for at least the twentieth time since Nursey had told the entire camp of his blunder. “They’re all full of themselves and crying and sighing over everything, and hiding in their bunks whenever there’s actual combat.” He waved his hands as they walked, jostling the half dozen swords in his arms. 

Chowder ducked out of the way of a wayward hilt, raising an eyebrow at the display. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Nursey cry.”

“That’s because you’re too busy always crying to notice.” 

“Hey!” Chowder grabbed the most precariously placed sword, drawing it from the group and whacking him across the back with the flat edge of the blade. “Don’t be rude when you don’t have a weapon.”

“I have like eight weapons,” Dex grumbled, shouldering his way roughly past two daughters of Iris making their way out of the arena. 

“Yeah, but that’s too many,” Chowder countered, gesturing wildly with his stolen sword and nearly knocking another free from Dex’s arms. “So you can’t actually do anything with them, rendering you defenseless.” Chowder punctuated his point by slapping Dex with the sword again. 

“Fuck! Stop that.”

A sudden shout drew Dex’s attention away from Chowder.

Five groups were currently engaged in mock combat in the arena, all flashing swords and bronzed shields flying between partners as they fought. Dex had never been much of a fighter. It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy it, or that he couldn’t hold his own in combat, but his job was to supply the others with the weapons they needed, and to occasionally help the Athena cabin with battle plans. He had no live combat experience beyond a few training sessions a week in the camp.

The fact that children of Hephaestus were rarely chosen for Quests certainly didn’t hang off his shoulders like a boulder, that was for certain.

He liked watching others fight though, liked the sound of metal on metal and the cries of battle.

There was a reason he had never questioned his status as a Demi-god.

“So much for hiding in his bunk.” Chowder nudged Dex with his free arm, pointing with his stolen sword to a pair dueling near the center. 

Dex recognized the one combatant instantly, a broad shouldered son of Tyche who everyone knew was deadly with his curved blade. The boy standing opposite of him took a moment for Dex to place, until he turned, sweeping a graceful arch with a dark and heavy looking broadsword.

Nursey was impossible to mistake, even under his plumed helmet and shining chest plate.

“Holy shit.” Dex wasn’t sure if it was himself or Chowder who had spoken, but either way the statement was appropriate. 

Nursey moved with a grace Dex wouldn’t have thought him capable of, at least not after watching him fall flat on his face every other day in the dining pavilion. There was no sense of uncertainty now, no fumbling to his footsteps as he stepped easily out of the way of the son of Tyche’s blade.

“Fuck, stay still!” The other boy hissed, his face flushed red and sweat dripping down his nose. 

For as fast as he was moving, Nursey looked like he’d never sweat a day in his life. The smirk he had was dangerous, a hard edge that looked somehow deadlier than the giant weapon in his hand. He tossed it from one hand to the other easily in the blink of an eye, before swinging a wide arch down and crashing the blade against his opponents leg guard.

The son of Tyche gasped in pain, his leg nearly buckling under him before Nursey delivered another blow to his other side. His movement’s weren’t efficient, even Dex could see that from where he stood. Nursey took too many steps, tossed the heavy sword around like it was made of plastic for seemingly no reason at all.

When the children of Ares fought, the word that was always on the tip of everyone’s tongue was brutal. They were dogs of war, all teeth and ruthless determination that overwhelmed their opponents. Nursey was none of that. His moves were calculated and certain, precise and aesthetically different each time.

He was turning fighting into an art form, combining hard blows and delicate footwork with a dancers steps and swings of his sword that had to be for nothing more than pageantry. It was as much a performance piece as it was a display of power, and everything about it should have disgusted Dex.

It did disgust Dex.

He couldn’t look away.

Despite all of the luck on the son of Tyche’s side, three more blows landed on him without a single one being returned in the process. Around them, the other pairs had ceased their own fighting to watch, but Dex didn’t notice. Nursey lashed out in a spinning maneuver, planting his sword in the dirt and kicking the son of Tyche’s legs out in one smooth movement that by all accounts should have left Nursey flat on his back. Instead he righted himself just as easily, and was standing straight as his opponent collapsed in the dirt.

“KILL HIM!” A daughter of Nemesis cried out. 

Nursey ignored the cry for blood, extending a hand to his defeated adversary to help him to his feet. Almost instantly the hard look of war was gone from his face, replaced with his usual easy smile as he chatted quickly with his opponent, like they hadn’t just been fighting. Like it had been game and not training for war.

“DEX!” 

Dex jumped, fumbling to keep the swords from tumbling out of his arms at Chowder’s sudden shout.

“Camp Half Blood to Dex! I called your name like four times.” Chowder shifted the swords in his own arms, and it took Dex a moment to realize he was indeed missing a few. “You dropped two and didn’t even notice.” 

Dex let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. Every part of him was on fire, his cheeks making a valiant effort to burn straight through to his teeth. He needed to dunk himself in the lake. If the nymphs drowned him then maybe that was just for the best at this point.

“Are you okay?” Chowder asked, swooping in far too close for Dex’s comfort, narrowing his eyes to scrutinize his friend’s face. “You’re all red.”

“I’m fine,” Dex snapped, turning sharply away from Chowder, and nearly slamming straight into Nursey. 

“Easy there Poindexter,” Nursey teased, raising the hand not currently wrapped around the hilt of his sword. “You’re gonna take more eyes out than the Apollo cabin has hands if you keep swinging those swords around. Hey C!”

“Hi Nursey! Wow, you’re an amazing fighter. That was incredible!” 

Up close, Dex could see Nursey’s mortality, was once again reminded that Nursey only half god; the same as himself and Chowder and nothing more. He was sweating, though it only hung around his temples, and was just beginning to wet the strands of hair poking out from beneath his helmet. His breathing was quicker than usual, though his hands didn’t shake, even after such a hard workout and with such a heavy weapon in his hand.

Dex took just a second too long to respond, and Nursey smirked. “See something you like? I could always give you private lessons if you want.”

Dex scowled, his heart hammering against his throat for absolutely no reason at all. “You’re such a fucking showboat.”

Nursey shrugged and threw a wink at Chowder. Chowder, the traitor, laughed. “When you’re the best there is, you gotta find some way to keep it fun.” Nursey ignored Dex’s noise of disgust, and clapped him on the shoulder as he passed. “Have fun with…whatever it is you’re doing. We still on for the sing-a-long tonight, C?”

Dex pushed away, ignoring the goodbyes happening behind him as he tried to not drop another sword. His shirt was sticking to his shoulder where Nursey had touched him, the fabric burning straight through his skin and down to a pulse point he had somehow never noticed before. Chowder was somewhere behind him, or maybe he had gotten caught talking to someone else, but for once Dex was grateful for his friend’s over friendly reputation. As soon as he shouldered his way into the arena’s armory, finding it blissfully empty, he dropped his stack of swords on the closest available surface, and almost collapsed on top of them himself.

His heart was beating out a rhythm he couldn’t identify in his chest and he could still feel the imprint of Nursey’s hand and he could hear the growl of triumph he had made when the son of Tyche had hit the ground and he could see his perfectly white smile flashing beneath the polished silver of his helmet.

Maybe he needed to go to the infirmary. Maybe he needed to do some heavy praying tonight. Maybe he needed to sacrifice a goat or whatever the hell they used to do in ancient Greece when things got truly terrible.

Of one thing, Dex was very certain, Nursey was the worst, and Dex was definitely in trouble.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this short little story! I might make it a series or I might make this a multi chapter??? Who knows. Not me. Sorry about all the typos.


End file.
